"You know, you should have gotten a skill that taught yourself how to cook, instead of all of us." Laura laughs, watching Cain struggle to make himself lunch. They packed lots of ingredients for sandwiches and a bunch of premade snacks, but with the rocking of the ship, he's doing a horrible job of slicing anything.
"There's a trick to this, I'm certain of it. Once I figure out how to properly stabilize myself I will be fine." Cain replies, almost cutting his fingers as they crash over a wave. His agility is keeping him upright and unwounded, but he's far from being able to say he's gotten his sea legs and he can't seem to predict when the next big jolt will come.
Just as lunchtime approached, a section of rough sea, where the current changes direction and the water gets shallow came into view. The crashing waves the transition creates would make any surfer happy to visit, but even here in what should be the deepest and calmest part according to the charts, it is far from a pleasant journey inside the ship.
They could have avoided it entirely, but that would add over a hundred knots to their journey, and Nila is certain they can navigate this channel safely, going by the information in the charts that came with the ship.
It looks to Cain like Laura is flitting back and forth across the wide cabin, but, since she's flying, it's not her but the ship that's moving like that.
Nemu comes down as he's finishing the first tray of lunch, walking into the galley with light steps and bracing her foot against the cabinets behind her, pushing her front against the counter while she's got food in both hands. Was it seriously that easy? The area seems to have been created to be narrow on purpose, it could have been much larger given the available space, so Cain leans back and braces his foot against a low round railing that runs the perimeter of the galley, finding that now he moves in time with the vessel and can work properly.
"See, just a lack of experience in rough seas. Once we're through this portion I'll bring the snacks up to serve lunch." Cain declares proudly while Vala and Nemu try not to laugh at him.
"How about I'll deal with delivering lunch and you can go topside and see the cliffs? It's a great view, we actually came down to get you, so you didn't miss it." Vala suggests.
That sounds like an excellent plan, so Cain goes to join Nila in the wheelhouse, looking out over the pillars of red rock jutting from the sea.
"According to the chartbook, this all used to be one huge peninsula, with an island at the end. We're passing through what used to be the channel between them. The island is eighty Kilometers wide or was before the entire area collapsed due to an unstable iron mine that was overworked for the war effort then bombed. The pillars you see jutting out of the water are the old mine roof supports after everything collapsed around them."
That's both amazing and terrible at the same time. That mine complex must have been huge, but to collapse an area that large into the sea, there must have been horrendous casualties. The coast is usually well-populated, and thousands of square Kilometers of flat land wouldn't have just been vacant.
"What's with that current though? I don't think I've ever seen two different currents meet like that before." Cain asks, indicating the center of the channel they're about to cross, where waves are traveling in two different directions and creating one big turbulent area. That's not going to be fun to cross unless their spell casters intervene.
"They used to flow around the peninsula, then both head out to sea together, now they meet and create chaos here, while most of the current still flows along its original path," Nila says, pointing at the notes in the book in front of her.
"We're getting into it, Captain." The wind mage informs them.
"Full output on the Following Wave, smooth out the transition, and keep the wind speed up, let's get through this as soon as we can," Nila instructs their casters and the ride immediately goes glass smooth, with the following breeze picking up a little, sending them skimming over the churning waves caused by the currents mixing at a high rate of speed.
It's a bit disconcerting with the pillars of rock all around them, but the path in front of them is clear as far as Cain can see. After a few minutes of their high-speed run, the water Shaman reduces the output of his spell back to normal, recovering from the exertion and the wind mage slows the wind back down to what it was before.
Cain can't tell how fast they're moving, maybe thirty Kilometers an hour? It certainly feels fast in a boat though.
Right at the point where the seas calm down again and the casters would naturally be at their most exhausted, Cain notices sails coming their way fast, emerging from behind a pair of rocky pillars. Two vessels, three decks high and they're running out their Cannons. The side hatches have popped open and a black flag with a skull on it is being raised.
Bonafide stereotypes of the Pirate stories Cain knows from his past life.
Cain immediately calls for the First Mate and the Mage from Captain Selah's ship and their clones to replace the crew they already have, giving them a fresh crew with full mana. Two of the new Supporters take over the spells the instant they appear before Cain releases all the old Supporters and Nila gives a grim smile.
One of the First Mates clones climbs the mast for a better view and starts calling back something Cain can't comprehend. It's in the common language but it seems to be a coded system using numbers, so Cain can't tell if it's coordinates, a threat assessment, or something else entirely.
Nila casts a trained glance across the gap between their vessel and the Pirates, increasing excitement for the upcoming fight becoming visible as a twinkle in her eye and a happy smirk on her narrow Elven face. "Are we fighting or running Sir?"
Cain focuses on the crew, gathering as much information as he can through the system. They're all between level 220 and 300, at least the ones on deck are. He can call for 6 clones of Kone at this point, with the casters and the Spider Queen summoned already.
"Everyone to arms. Flying Forces where possible, or ones that can jump well. We will run the gap between the battleships as fast as we can while you take care of the Pirates."
They're designed as sailing vessels, but Cain can see that they're metal hulled in a modern fashion, so they're going to be much sturdier than his wooden ship, and his crew hasn't ever used the magical Cannons before, so a firefight isn't a great idea.
"Captain, there's a gap in the pillars ahead on the starboard, if we cut it just right we should be able to dodge and run, then cut back into the channel." The First Mate relays the information from his clone and Cain nods his assent.
The deck is full of Dragons, Seraphim, and assorted other creatures now and Cain can see the confusion among the Pirates.
"Attack crew engage. Nila, get us free of this trap."
The wind spell driving the ship forward easily lifts the flying units into the air and spells from the Pirate vessels begin to fly up to meet them. The Pirates aren't taking any chances on this one, and they've gone all out, nearly stopping their ships to attack the flying intruders. Even the deck Cannons are being hastily rolled onto wedges to aim them into the sky as the ships tack away, the tilt of the vessels making it easier to point the Cannons upwards.
Explosions light up the sky and Cain can see several Drakes fall, their wings in ruins, and wounds covering their bodies. The Forest Dragons that have a Kone clone on top have gone low to the water, hiding behind pillars to get closer to the Pirates. Once they're in range, huge clouds of withering Dragon Breath cover the ships and hide the appearance of Snapping Turtles for a moment before the clouds are dispersed.
Given their much higher levels, the Forest Dragon Breath only caused minimal damage to the crew and it doesn't harm inanimate objects like the ships themselves. The same cannot be said of the Legendary Quality Turtles. They do cause serious damage, both to the crew and the ship. More transfers are coming up on deck now, charging the durable Turtles, trying to either kill them or knock them overboard in hopes that they won't be able to catch up again.
Whether that is a valid tactic or not remains to be seen, the Snapping Turtles can move quite quickly when they want to, but the crew is doing a decent job of saving their vessels. At least for the first few seconds until more Dragons arrive, drowning them in area attacks and reinforcements. Then the Seraphim begin dive-bombing then and all semblance of order is lost.
By Cain's guess, each vessel has about thirty crew on board, plenty to attack and conquer the average merchant vessel, especially one with a level 150 crew. Their advanced levels are a major benefit to them, but dealing with dozens of Raid Boss difficulty summons even half their level is too tall of a task to ask of any crew.
First, one mast is snapped, then a second, then one from the other ship, before a pair of white flags are raised and weapons are thrown down, prompting Cain to call off the attack.
"Nila, what is the usual policy on surrendered Pirates? I never asked before, because I didn't think it would become an issue so quickly."
The Wave Rider Companion throws her head back and laughs, her shoulders shaking as she doubles over the wheel . "Depends where you are. Wave Riders give them fifty lashes each for stupidity then loot them and leave them with their damaged ships."
That sounds like a plan to Cain. They might be thieves, but they did surrender.
